Idris Elba May Take Aim As Deadshot

Suicide Squad is about to trade the Fresh Prince for a DJ. Deadline reports that Idris Elba is in talks to replace Will Smith as the legendary DC Comics assassin Deadshot in the James Gunn-directed revamp of the Suicide Squad set to be released August 2021. I first saw this news when the latest episode of Collider Movie Talk showed up in my YouTube feed. At first, I thought it was just a rumor. After all, there was no way Elba might play Deadshot; the casting is just too perfect. After looking around the interwebs for a few minutes, however, I discover that the recasting was, in fact, happening.

This is undoubtedly some of the best casting news to come out of DC in years. While I adore Will Smith, it’s hard to argue that the first Suicide Squad was really his movie. Even though the famed actor brought his particular brand to the Squad’s first outing, there was no real need to keep him in the Deadshot role, especially when they were revamping this branch of the DC cinematic universe. Elba brings a very different charisma to any project he’s in, and he will no doubt help usher Gunn’s vision to the screen if he ends up taking the part. It will no doubt disappoint many fans that DC didn’t cast him as John Stewart, but with Elba’s work in Marvel and Pacific Rim, I feel Deadshot is a natural progression for the actor, and a good alternative to James Bond. I hope they’ll do the spinoff with him because Elba deserves a franchise after being robbed of the opportunity with a lackluster Dark Tower adaptation.

Are you excited for Deadshot to cancel the apocalypse, or do you wish they had kept Will Smith? Let us know in the comments!